XXVI SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

1^ST READING: Ezekiel 18:25-28

RESPONSORIAL PSALM: Psalm 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9

2^ND READING: Philippians 2:1-11

GOSPEL: Matthew 21:28-32

Dear brothers and sisters,

Today’s readings emphasize repentance, humility, and obedience to God. In the Gospel, Jesus presents us with two sons. Their responses to their father contrast with the obedience of the Son described in the second reading.

The father asks both sons to go and work in his vineyard. The first son initially refuses but later changes his mind and goes. The second son says, “Yes, sir,” but does not go. Through this parable, Jesus challenges those who have heard the Law, the prophets, and even his own preaching, but refuse to repent and obey God. They are like the son who said “yes” but never went to the vineyard.

On the other hand, the son who initially refused but later repented and went represents the sinner who listens to Jesus’ message, changes his heart, and returns to God. God is always ready to welcome the person who sincerely repents.

The second reading gives us one of the great Christological hymns of the New Testament. It speaks of the humility and exaltation of Jesus. Unlike the two sons in the Gospel, Jesus did not merely say “yes” to his Father—he fulfilled his Father’s will completely.

Jesus says in the Gospel of John, “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me” (Jn 4:34). And the Letter to the Hebrews echoes this obedience: “A body you prepared for me; behold, I come to do your will” (Heb 10:5–7).

Christ emptied himself, taking the form of a servant and becoming obedient even to death, death on a cross. This hymn presents before us the selfless love and service of Christ. Therefore, Saint Paul invites us: “Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus” (Phil 2:5). This means that we are called to imitate Christ in our relationships with one another—with humility, unity, selflessness, and genuine concern for others.

Dear brothers and sisters, repent and return to God, and you will live. This is the message of the first reading from the prophet Ezekiel. God reminds us that each person is responsible for his or her own actions. We should stop saying, as the proverb says, “The parents have eaten sour grapes, but the children’s teeth are set on edge” (Ez 18:2).

Sometimes, when things go wrong in our lives, we look for someone else to blame. We may blame our parents, our past, our circumstances, or other people for what happens to us. But Ezekiel reminds us that we are not prisoners of our past. God gives each of us the freedom and the grace to repent, to change, and to begin again.

The good news is that it is never too late to return to God. What matters is not simply what we have said in the past, but what we choose to do today.

May the Lord give us the grace to repent when we have gone astray, to humble ourselves before him, and to imitate his Son, Jesus Christ, who was obedient to the Father and gave himself completely for us.